14-Steps Guide On How To Run An Influencer Marketing Campaign

State your goals

You “just need sales,” launch a few posts, and by Friday night GA4 and Shopify are arguing while Finance pings “ROI?” Classic. The fix isn’t a prettier brief — it’s a smarter marketing campaign goal. When the influencer marketing campaign goal is specific and math-backed, creator choice, formats, budget, UTMs, even Legal, all fall into place.

1. Start with business math 

Start with the business, not the vibes. What are we buying: new customers, demos, installs, or a content library? Pick one. Then do the napkin math. AOV, margin, target CAC/ROAS. If margin is 60%, breakeven ROAS is ~1.67x. If AOV is €65 and first-order margin is €28, a CAC at or under €22 keeps you honest.

Back-solve the marketing strategy funnel. Orders → sessions (site CVR). Sessions → clicks (landing health). Clicks → impressions (CTR). Does that fit your budget once you add creator fees and a little paid to whitelist winners? If not, resize now, not later.

Example: Need 150 orders. CVR 2.5% → 6,000 sessions. CTR 0.8% → 750,000 impressions. CPM €8 → media-equiv €6,000. Creator fees €4,000. All-in €10,000. AOV €60; first-order margin €24 → breakeven at 500 orders. You’re short. 

2. Choose your KPI stack (by campaign type)

Now that the business math is locked (what you’re buying and at what CAC/ROAS), then pick your influencer marketing KPI stack. Do it in this order because KPIs are just dials — set them too early and you’ll chase pretty numbers instead of profitable ones. With the math in place, KPIs become a steering wheel, not a scoreboard.

• If your goal is acquisition: CAC or ROAS (primary), plus New Customer %, AOV.

• If your goal is awareness: Unique Reach/Views (primary), support with CPM, 3s/6s holds, Share of Voice.

• If your goal is Traffic/Engagement: Unique Clicks / CPE, support with CTR, authentic ER%.

• If your goal is Content/UGC: # Usable Assets and CPUC (cost per usable creative), usage window, whitelist rights.

• If your goal is B2B pipeline: Cost/MQL or Cost/Demo, support with MQL→SQL %, Pipeline € influenced.

Pick one primary + 1–2 supports, write them in the brief, and you’ve got a goal with a built-in GPS.

3. Inputs to lock before launch

Alright, math and influencers campaigns KPIs are locked — now we tighten the bolts so launch day isn’t a crime scene.

First, brand audience geo and language. Say out loud where you actually sell and in what language you want people to hear you. Not “EU-ish.” Be specific: “Spain only; Madrid/Barcelona/Valencia; Spanish captions and subtitles.” That one line kills 80% of geo-leakage drama.

Next, attribution windows. Pick them and make every tool agree — GA4, Shopify, your MMP. I like 7-day click / 1-day view for most drops. If those windows don’t match, you’ll get ghost conversions, double credit, and Finance giving you the look.

Then, the plumbing. One source of truth or bust. Content UTMs that say exactly what happened:

utm_source=ig|tt|yt&utm_medium=influencer&utm_campaign=<drop>&utm_content=<handle>_<postID>_<format>. 

Unique promo codes per creator to catch dark-social handoffs your pixels miss. And every post link and ID lives in Equifluence and your master sheet/CRM. If it isn’t logged, it didn’t happen — at least not in a way you can defend.

Finally, rights and compliance. Spell out usage windows, Spark/whitelist access, any exclusivity, and the exact FTC/ASA language. No rights means no ads. No disclosures means takedowns. Put it in the contract, not in Slack.

Lock these in before a single social media post goes live. Do that, and launch feels boring — in the best way — and your numbers actually mean something.

Finally, here are some influencer marketing goals examples from different industries:

• E-commerce new customer acquisition: Acquire 400 new customers in 30 days at CAC ≤ €22 (AOV €65; first-order margin €28).

• Awareness for market entry: 1.5M unique views in 30 days with CPM ≤ €9 and ≥75% audience in Spain; 3-s VTR ≥ 30%.

• B2B lead gen: 60 MQLs and 20 booked demos in 45 days at Cost/MQL ≤ €120 and Cost/Demo ≤ €360.

• Mobile app: 4,000 installs at CPI ≤ €1.20 with D1 retention ≥ 35% (ES market).

Use this worksheet for your next creators campaign goal:

Outcome = ____ by date at CAC/ROAS/CPL = ____; 

Geo/Language = ____; 

Primary KPI = ____; 

Support = ____; 

Budget = ____; 

Kill-switch = ____; 

Scale rule = ____; 

Attribution = ____;

UTM format = source/medium/campaign/content.

Set your budget

When do you set it? Right after the goal and funnel math — before you book talent — so the money steers, not the vibes. If you’ve been Googling “how to do an influencer campaign,” this is the moment everyone skips and then regrets later.

In influencer marketing you lock budget once you know the outcome (new customers, demos, installs, or assets), your target CAC/ROAS, and the rough funnel: orders → sessions → clicks → impressions. 

Do that napkin math first; then price the roster. Don’t commit to influencers until you’ve sized what you can actually afford.

Make the number from the top down (allowable spend = target results × target CAC) and from the bottom up (fees, post count, formats, whitelisting, product cost, shipping, tracking tools, legal). Your brand margin sets the ceiling; usage rights and paid extension eat more than people expect; and you always keep a 10–15% “uh-oh” buffer.

Here’s how I budget in practice:

• Pilot with a mixed cohort, not a single bet.

• Reserve 20–30% to amplify best posts with paid.

• Add product and logistics costs so the math is real.

• Use a simple scale rule: if CAC meets target twice, pour more in; if not, pause and re-brief.

Quick example: say you want 300 new customers at €20 CAC. That’s €6,000 allowable. You expect 2.5% CVR and 0.9% CTR, so you’ll need ~1.3M impressions. 

Plan 5 micros at €400 each (€2,000), product + shipping (€300), paid amplification (€2,000), tracking/creative odds and ends (€300), contingency (€700). 

You’re at €5,300 for the pilot — room to test, room to scale if the numbers hold.

List your ideal influencer criteria

Why bother getting super clear on “ideal influencer” criteria? Because this is where money quietly leaks. Wrong fit, wrong language, wrong cities… and suddenly CAC’s ugly and your boss is asking why Madrid sales didn’t move when half the views came from Mexico. The right criteria turn guesswork into a checklist. Fast yes’s. Faster no’s.

Here’s how I walk it: First, goal → format → person. If we’re chasing new customers, I want creators who can demo in three seconds, land a CTA, and move clicks — not just vibes. If it’s awareness, I want storytellers with high holds and shareable hooks. Your outcome picks your human.

Now the non-negotiables.

• Geo + influencer audience. Country first, city second. Aim for ≥70–80% in-country and meaningful city concentration (Madrid/Barcelona/Valencia if that’s where you sell). Then sanity-check age/gender and interests. If you sell SPF, I want a skincare-curious 18–34, not a general meme crowd.

• Engagement rate (authentic). Look at medians, not one viral outlier. For micros, 2–5% ER on recent short-form is healthy in most niches. Check the view-to-follower ratio (I like 15–30% median views per reel/short), comment quality (actual questions, not “🔥🔥”), and story view rate (3–8% of followers is a useful gut check). Clicks beat likes, so peek at link taps when you can.

• Next, proof of performance: not all influencers are equal — I’m looking for median Reels/Shorts views at 15–30% of followers, authentic comments (not emoji soup), and steady growth (no botty spikes). 

• Check their social media hygiene: sponsorship ratio under ~25% lately, no messy controversies, and quick reply times. 

• Fake followers. Hunt for botty signals: sudden follower spikes, tons of foreign followers outside target geo, the same five emoji comments across posts, and likes/comments landing in suspicious clusters within minutes. Audience-quality scores help, but your eyes are still your best tool. If >10–15% looks sketchy, I pass.

• Reputation. Quick brand-safety sweep: no recent controversies, no hate or scams, no conflict with your category. Then look at the ad load — if the last 30 posts are 40% sponsorships, performance usually lags. I like creators who protect their feed.

A quick example spanish D2C beauty brand, SPF stick, acquisition goal:

That’s it. Clear, concrete, and tied to the outcome. With criteria like this, you don’t “hope” a creator works — you know why they will (or won’t) before you spend a euro.

Find your influencers

You can totally hunt by hand — hashtags, spreadsheets, DMs. But why, when IQFluence can surface on-brief matches in seconds across Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube? It’s an AI-curated database with 13+ pro filters built for fast, high-fit discovery. 

Here’s the process flow:

1️⃣ Start with your “ideal” and turn it into filters. Location for both the creator and their audience, gender, age, language, bio keywords/hashtags, even past brand partnerships — so you’re not guessing who they’ve worked with. Flip those on and your shortlist gets real, fast. 

2️⃣ Set performance floors, not hopes. Pick a follower tier (say, 10K–250K), minimum average ER (30/90-day), median views per post/video, 30/90-day growth, and “active within X days.” Benchmarks keep pricing sane and approvals quick. 

3️⃣ Go semantic where it matters (YouTube). Toggle Semantic AI Search so it reads subtitles and descriptions — “Patagonia travel” won’t get confused with “Patagonia jackets” — and watch semi-relevant results turn into true matches you actually want to pitch. 

4️⃣ Have a north star creator? Find lookalikes. Drop in a known handle and pull ranked neighbors with similar audiences, themes, engagement, and growth. It’s the fastest way to scale a winning profile without diluting fit. 

Now quickly to the next step 👇

Analyze them

Okay, so you’ve found a few creators you’re into. The vibe is right. Their content’s solid. You’re starting to imagine how your product might fit on their feed. But now comes the “are-they-actually-a-good-fit?” part. And yes — you could open 12 tabs, scroll through every post, run their @ through some free ER calculator, and guess their audience geo based on comment language.

But again… why?

Influencer marketing platforms like IQFluence pull all that chaos into one clean view — so you don’t just like a creator, you know they’re right for the campaign before you spend a cent.

Here’s how I walk through it — like, if you asked me right now how to do an influencer campaign, this is what I’d show you:

1️⃣ Open up the profile

Skip the follower count. I go straight to content performance:

• What’s the average views, likes, saves, shares on the last 30 posts?

• Are they getting consistent engagement or riding one viral high?

• Are comments real people asking real questions — or just “🔥🔥🔥”?

IQFluence pulls this from API data, so it’s not “what they screenshot you” — it’s what actually happened.

2️⃣ Look at the audience

You want to make sure this creator actually reaches your people. You’ll see:

• Country AND top cities (yep, it shows metros)

• Language of the audience

• Reachability score (how many of their followers actually see their posts)

If you're a brand shipping only to Spain, but 35% of their reach is in Brazil and 20% is in the US... pause. The rest of your strategy starts breaking.

3️⃣ Check fit with your goals

• Is their tone aligned with your marketing strategy?

• Are they super polished or more UGC/raw-feel?

• Do they post reviews, demos, GRWMs, comparisons?

• Can you whitelist them? Do you get usage rights? (Because if you don’t, you’re buying a 24-hour story and that’s it.)

And the time-saving gold? You can also compare creators side-by-side.

Just save your faves and stack them up. Geo, ER%, topic clusters, growth curve, sponsorship load — it’s like a control panel for decision-making. And if you're reporting to someone else? Export it all to a neat CSV or PDF and drop it in the deck.

Quick example: Say you’re launching a new natural deodorant line. You find a few influencers who align with your tone — funny, slightly chaotic morning routines with good lighting.

You open their IQFluence profiles and check:

✔ 18–34 women, 80% in Spain (Barcelona/Madrid)
✔ 3.8% ER, stable 30-day views
✔ Posts similar social media brands (clean beauty, wellness)
✔ Recent story link CTR = 0.7%
✔ Delivers 1 reel + 2 stories with usage rights and Spark access

That’s a yes. You’re no longer guessing if they’ll convert — you’ve got data to support the pick. That’s how you move from “cute creator” to actual campaign fit.

Check their rates

If you’re doing influencer marketing and not checking rates before outreach, you're flying blind.

You see a creator with 28K followers, love their vibe, and message them — cool. But if you don’t know what they typically charge, you risk overpaying or getting ghosted. That’s why I always check pricing first.

Some influencers actually drop a rate card link in their bio. Others don’t, but you can still estimate based on their follower count, niche, or industry benchmarks. For example, data based on IQFluence users collabs:

Add usage rights or whitelisting? That jumps to €500+ — and yeah, it can still be worth it if their audience is engaged and geo-aligned.

Your campaign budget matters. Knowing rates helps your brand build a smart strategy and find creators who deliver. So yeah — check before you pitch. 

Outreach them

So you’ve finally found a few creators you’re excited about. Their metrics check out, their audience is your dream demo, their content is scroll-stopping, and the vibe is ✨exactly✨ what your brand needs. You’re ready to reach out.

Now pause — because this next part? It can make or break your entire campaign.

If you’re wondering how to run an influencer marketing campaign, it’s not just “send a DM and hope.” Outreach is a strategy. Especially now, when influencers get dozens of brand requests a week. If you sound like a mass email, they’re skipping you.

So, here’s what I do every time — and trust me, it works:

1️⃣ Engage before you pitch

Don’t just slide in with “Hey, love your content.” Show up.
Like a few posts, comment something real on one or two. If you’re gonna reference a post, make it legit — “Loved your last Reel about switching to mineral SPF, I actually commented on it last week 👇” (yes, screenshot that comment if you’re sending email, it works).

That way, when you message them later, it’s not “Hey, I love your content” — it’s “Hey, I’ve actually been following you for a bit.” Feels real. Because it is.

2️⃣ Now the message example:

Hey [Name] 

I’m NAME AND POSITION at COMPANY. I’ve been enjoying your morning routine videos; the Tuesday one with the SPF stick was super helpful.

[Screenshot of the post]

My company XXXX is launching a XXXX product in the COUNTRY and I thought of you immediately.

If you’re open, can we trade a few messages about a collab? I can share brief, timing, and budget ranges.

Either way, big fan.

[Your Name]

If they’re open, then you follow up with the brief, the deliverables, timing, and rates. (For example: “One Reel + two Stories; 90-day usage rights; paid usage whitelisting optional. Budget: €300–€400 based on content type.”)

If you want more templates, check this article - “Influencer Outreach Email Template: 22 Email & DM examples”. 

3️⃣ Now let’s talk about follow-ups because no answer doesn’t mean “no,” it usually means “I missed it.”

IQFluence users usually run a simple 3–5 message sequence. Timing: space them 1–2 days apart so you’re present, not annoying.

Follow-up 1 (Day 2):

Hey! Just circling back in case previous email got buried — my company XXX would still love to connect about a possible collab if the timing’s right 😊

Follow-up 2 (Day 4):

Quick Q — are you currently open to brand collabs in [month]? We’re building out our summer influencer marketing calendar and would love to include you.

Follow-up 3 (Day 6):

Totally get it if this isn’t a fit right now! How about checking back in next month for future social media campaigns?

Optional final nudge (Day 8):

Hey [Name], quick idea — if there’s someone on your team or inbox I should contact directly about collab opportunity, just let me know. Either way, big fan of your work!

Each one adds value or shifts the angle slightly — so you’re not just shouting “???” at their inbox. You’re showing respect and persistence. And you’d be surprised how often message #3 is the one that lands the yes.

Because here’s the thing — when you find the right creators, and you treat them like collaborators (not billboards), they’ll remember that. You’re not just a brief. You’re a strategy.

Together with an influencer decide what type of campaign to run

When you're figuring out how to run an influencer campaign, don’t just pick the format on your own. I know it’s tempting to say, “Let’s do a Reel!” and move on — but in influencer marketing, the format should fit both the goal and the creator’s voice.

You bring the brand objective (awareness, clicks, sales). The influencers bring the magic of knowing what their audience actually watches and engages with. Decide together.

You’ve got options: short-form videos (Reels, TikToks, Shorts), carousels, photo posts, Story series, tutorials, GRWM, UGC for ads, even lives. Every content type has a purpose — and a price.

For example:

Smart creators know what converts — so co-create the brief. Hook, timing, CTA, vibe.

This isn’t just about formats — it’s about building a strategy that works across social media channels and makes your campaign feel native, not forced. That’s how you find what performs and what actually drives results.

Sign a contract

This is the part where you make it official. You’ve done the discovery, you’ve found the right creators, the brief is aligned, and everyone’s vibing. Now: contract.

Please don’t skip it.

In influencer marketing, a handshake (or a DM) is not enough — especially when there’s paid usage, deadlines, and a whole campaign calendar on the line. A contract protects both sides. It’s not about being stiff — it’s about setting clear expectations so no one’s guessing later.

What do I include? The basics:

• Deliverables (e.g., 1 Reel + 2 Stories)

• Deadlines

• Required tags/hashtags

• CTA

• Content usage rights (e.g., 90-day paid usage, whitelisting)

• Rates

• Payment terms

• Revision process (1 round? 2?)

• What happens if the post doesn’t go live on time

And make sure you're aligned on social media platforms and file formats before signatures happen. You’d be shocked how many influencers shoot vertically… for YouTube.

Knowing how to run an influencer campaign means treating it like a real partnership contract is a must have part here. It protects your content, your timeline, your audience outcomes — and your budget.

When to pay your influencer?

Split it. 50% upfront when the contract is signed, 50% after the content goes live and matches the agreed brief.

Why? Because that first half secures the creator’s time and focus. They’re juggling other brands, and paying upfront shows you’re serious. The second half keeps the schedule on track — so your campaign doesn’t get lost behind someone else’s.

Now — if it’s a micro or nano creator, some may ask for full payment upfront. If they’ve got a clean track record, I’m usually cool with it, especially if the rate is modest.

And always, always clarify the payment terms in the contract: due dates, what triggers payment (e.g., post link delivered), and the method (PayPal, Wise, bank transfer). It avoids headaches later.

Launch: Posting calendar, product seeding, and link tracking ready?

You’ve got your creators lined up, brief approved, content scheduled… now don’t let the ball drop. Launch isn’t just “hope they post.” It’s orchestrated.

1. Start with the posting calendar. I always create a live tracker — Google Sheet, Notion board, whatever works — so I know exactly who’s posting what, where, and when. Spread it out so your audience sees a steady drumbeat across platforms. No one wants 5 collabs going live at 9am on the same Tuesday.

2. Next: product seeding. Ship it early. Like, way earlier than feels necessary. Creators need time to try it, film in good light, maybe even redo a take. And don’t forget: packaging matters. If your brand vibes get lost in a plain box, it impacts first impressions — and the final post.

3. Then: link tracking. Before anyone posts, all your UTM links and promo codes should be live, tested, and organized. Each creator gets their own. This isn’t just for fun — it’s how you tie performance to actual sales or sign-ups.
   Bonus points if you tag links to match your funnel: awareness, consideration, conversion.

You only launch once per campaign, so this moment deserves precision.

Check the content before posting

I know, you’ve done the brief, the vibe is right, and your creators are pros… but trust me, reviewing the influencer posts before launch is where you catch the small things that can save your campaign.

This isn’t about micromanaging — it’s about brand safety and conversion clarity.

I always ask for drafts 48–72 hours before the post date. That gives enough time for review without derailing the strategy. You’re not just looking at the vibe — you’re checking:

• Is the brand tagged correctly?

• Is the CTA clear?

• Are the product benefits actually shown or said out loud?

• Are the UTM link or promo code mentioned in the caption or Story swipe-up?

Oh — and check for any weird framing. One time, a creator shot our wellness product next to a pile of laundry. Not the wellness story we were going for 😅

Make sure the audience sees the product in the first 3 seconds if it’s video. That’s especially true for short-form on social media — Reels, TikToks, Shorts. You don’t have 10 seconds to warm up anymore.

Final check: does the influencer sound like themselves? The magic of influencer marketing is authenticity. You want it to feel like their content, not your script.

Track your posts performance and correct them on the go

Because once those influencer posts go live, it’s not “set it and forget it.” This is when you see if the whole plan is working — or needs a quick rescue.

Now, if you're serious about influencer marketing, you’re not just eyeballing likes. You're tracking actual movement. That means having your post IDs, promo codes, and pixels set up before launch — and reconciling everything inside GA4 or Shopify as the data rolls in.

Here’s what IQFluence users usually do:

• Each creator gets a unique UTM link and promo code

• Those links are tested before go-live (trust me, test them)

• Inside GA4 or Shopify, I map link clicks, sessions, and conversion events back to the creator

That way I’m not guessing who drove what.

Now say something’s not hitting. You check the first 2–3 posts and the CTR is flat, or the promo code hasn’t been used once. That’s your sign. Pause the next wave. Check the hook — did they mention the CTA early enough? Did the product even show up in the first 3 seconds?

Here’s a real example: Once an IQFluence user had a creator post a gorgeous video, but the CTA was buried in the caption, and the swipe-up got posted 24 hours later. Clicks? Almost zero. They fixed it by re-editing the hook, added subtitles, and reposted it 3 days later. It crushed.

Analyze results, calculate the campaign ROI

Once all the influencer posts are live, and the DMs are calming down, it’s time for the part no one talks about enough: measuring what actually worked.

If you're serious about how to create an influencer marketing campaign, this is the moment that separates “pretty content” from profitable strategy.

Inside IQFluence, it’s honestly a dream. Once you track your campaign with post links, promo codes, and UTMs, the platform pulls all your post-level data into one dashboard. You see reach, views, likes, comments — but also real outcomes: link clicks, sign-ups, purchases. Even geography and language of the audience that engaged.

Campaign monitoring in IQFluence. Test it live with a 7-day trial

Let’s say your brand paid five creators €300 each. That’s €1,500 total. IQFluence shows you that the campaign drove 140 purchases at an AOV of €45 = €6,300 in revenue.

Your ROI? Simple:

€6,300 ÷ €1,500 = 4.2x ROI

You spent €1.5K and made back over 4x. That’s how you prove value.

You can also break it down by influencers. Maybe one person drove 70% of the clicks? There’s your next long-term partner. Or maybe one flopped — cool, now you know who not to rebook.

This is why good influencer marketing doesn’t stop at the content. It’s data + creative. It’s performance + relationships.

You don't just find creators — you build a system that works. And that is how you build a social media campaign that actually scales.

Discover how to automate your next collab with IQFluence

IQFluence — the software that helps you stop guessing and actually scale your Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube collabs.

It’s for the brand marketer juggling 42 tabs — because you deserve tools that match your hustle. Whether you're after conversions, awareness, installs, or retention, IQFluence simplifies how to create a successful influencer marketing campaign from pitch to post.

This is where influencer marketing becomes something you can actually manage.
Plan a launch, seed your product, build repeatable workflows, and scale content that looks native — but performs like paid.

Here’s what makes it magic:

• Influencer Discovery with 13+ filters. Want to find TikTokers with 3%+ ER, fast follower growth, and skincare content in Spanish? Filter by vibe, not just vanity metrics.

• Semantic AI Search. IQFluence reads captions, not just hashtags — so if someone’s actually talking about your topic, we’ll surface them. Ideal for niche products and social influencer collabs that need more than just reach.

•  In-Depth Creator Analysis. Before you pitch, check how creators perform, if their audience is real, and how their strategy plays out in the feed. Avoid bots, inflated metrics, and “meh” vibes.

• Simple Tracking + API. Connect your campaign links, monitor ROI, and export real-time stats straight into your reporting tools. No more missing performance data or buried UTM links.

Whether you're testing your first social media drop or scaling 20+ influencers at once — I truly think this tool saves time, stress, and "did we miss something?" energy.

Start your free trial of IQFluence and see how smart, scalable, and human your next campaign can be

👉 Start now 👈